Franken Fran

Manga : Franken Fran

Author : Katsuhisa Kigitsu

After dealing with the war between the 2 goddesses of Nisekoi i.e Onodera and Chitoge,I was tired of the whole thing and decided to go read a manga that I heard of,which firs my liking for gore and insanity and philosophy of life,which was Franken Fran.If this introduction wasn’t good,I’ll get to the point.

The manga deals with the adventures and misadventures of Madaraki Fran,a half-dead girl,who is a doctor that can turn mere mascots into living breathing mascots,human beings into animals and also do surgeries without any concern,whatsoever and the end result might be a dream or a nightmare for the treated patients.

One thing that makes this manga unique is the gore factor and the cases that Fran has to deal with.The gore factor is huge in the first 7 chapters,but then it decreases so as to increase philosophical insanity and character development,although there are some chapters,where the gore increases.This really increases the shock factor and makes you want to read it or be creeped out by the gore itself.The individual chapters have good philosophical meanings,from something like beauty and justice,to the matters of life and death and how precious human life is,and they are done in the weirdest and most insane way possible.I like the biological knowledge and terms added to give as to how these operations are all done,even though they wont work in real life (or will they ?).Pacing is episodic,but even some of the chapters made me laugh and some gave me the feels.Also,it contains nudity but not too much,so be careful.

Madaraki Fran is someone that can make Dr.Heiter and Moreau look like shit.What makes her interesting is her personality,sense of morality and judgement.Her views on human life,biology makes you think whether she’s doing the right thing or she’s just wrong and insane and her views on justice are really great,for me i.e. She and her sisters are wonderful and inspirational characters imo.Some of the patients and characters are good or are just ok.There are also recurring characters in some chapters.The art is fantastic in terms of gore as well as characters (There was one character that looked like Haruhi and one that looked like Tenma).It makes you feel the gruesome mentality and horror and comedy of the suffering patients,though there were few instances of lack of blood around some body parts.

TL;DR : It has a philosophical meaning to it,that makes you think and like as well as the fascinating mentality and horror that surrounds it.It’s a must read and it has comedy.


Recommendations :
Fourteen - Umezu Kazuo
Every manga done by Junji Ito.
Inugami - Masaya Hokazono
Gantz - Hiroya Oku
Dragon Head,The Drifting Classroom - Minetaro Mochizuki

Franken Fran is a well made paranormal dark sitcom. The manga is about a schoolgirl Fran, who has stitches on her body and resembles to Frankenstein monster, a human being brought to life by a crazy scientist. Fran was also created by a scientist and she spends most of the time operating and researching in his lab. She needs funds to keep the lab working, so she helps various people to make changes on their body for a price. That is basic start of a chapter - someone offers her money to make change on their body, she experiments and the outcome isn't as expected.

Sitcoms have overall problem of having no main plot, they rely on numerous stories which make characters react. This manga doesn't have feeling of progress, it shows only the situations Fran deals with, but it's only a minor negative point. Most of the stories are creative, quirky and well made, dark humor is very well placed. Some stories have more paranormal approach and more pages are spent on (pseudo)scientific approach to explain some things, but even those parts are decent at worst. Many stories are simple, but they are effective and don't contain anything unnecessary. I would say Sentinel parts are one of the most enjoyable,
Art is very good, anatomy parts and gore are very detailed.
Characters are mostly fixed and have a couple of traits. They react according to their traits and we learn patterns of protagonists, but new characters always bring quirkiness and unexpected situations. Fran is more developed character, she genuinely cares about nice people and has weakness to people with love problems, she also behaves according to her morals - helping nice people while punishing the ones she finds bad. Even though other characters from the lab appear through most of the manga, they rarely get the spotlight, such as Okita, Veronica and Adorea.

The manga is very entertaining and contains a lot of material to crack you up. The stories are well written, characters put in awkward situations, comedy on spot. Even though the character development and main plot are lacking, it's not a drawback. I see that more people relate the manga with horror, but I'd say it's more comedy. The manga differs from most of mangas and it's definitely worth of your time, if you don't mind gory moments.

Franken Fran is honestly one of my all time favourite series, and I am not ashamed to admit tearing up a little when it ended. It's such a unique manga that sticks out from the crowd, partly due to it's absolutely insane premise, but also because of the sheer joy it gave me.

The Story - Each chapter gives you a fresh new story line meaning that it never gets stagnant or feels repetitive. Obviously there will be some chapters that are weaker than others, but I never disliked one or felt bored reading it; I always wanted to keep going!

The Art - The art is very refreshing and fits with the story; gruesome in places, detailed and intricate through out, and not afraid to hold back. The gore was also very well illustrated, so if you don't like that kind if thing, I reccomend you to back away from this series.

The Characters - I can genuinely say that I liked pretty much every character in this manga, even if they were the 'bad guy'. All are shown to have flaws, all are shown to have strengths, and Fran is just so perfect in every way - she holds everything together perfectly.

Enjoyment - My personal enjoyment was 10/10. Every moment kept me reading on, I never once got bored, and I will definitely read again in the future. The dark humour kept me laughing, Fran kept my emotions running, and I was thoroughly gripped right to the very end.

Overall, this is an almost perfect manga for me. I wish that some of the characters had got a little more 'screentime' (I won't name anyone, out of possible fears of spoilers) but apart from that, I loved it.
I would recommend Franken Fran to anyone who enjoys dark humour, horror and gore elements, and to fans on Junji Ito's work (as I found myself thinking about some of his works whilst reading this). However, anyone who doesn't like gore, I suggest you stay away... far away

10/10 Would Fap Again
Huh, this porn manga looks pretty good, I love something new, or so you might have thought, when seeing the cover of the first volume of the manga in any of the book stores in your country. If you, just like me, had the same guessing, I cannot blame you. This piece is considered a science fiction manga. Though, it is not the usual science fiction you will expect to see. What I mean is the fact that it has nothing to do with space battles, giant mechas and technical wonders. However, Kigitsu Katsuhisa has his own understanding of what science fiction is. His characters, as it has been mentioned before, do not fly in space and do not jump in time. Nevertheless, the main "technical miracle" is one of the main themes of this manga. And I cannot say I do not like it.

Cute Little Girls Doing Cute Experiments (Or Not?)
World War II, a talented biologist, named Madaraki Naomitsu, uses his skills in medical practice. During the war time, the professor does whatever he wants and no one cares about how horrific his experiments might be, even the government turns a blind eye on the work of the caring professor Naomitsu. But, it turns out, he is not a happy professor, trying to help people, he is actually a psychopath with a scalpel. But no war lasts forever and The Second World War is finally over, too. However, the problem is that the crimes of the professor Naomitsu are now noticed and to escape the punishment, the professor vanishes. The end.

Not quite. The madman leaves his daughter, as well as his best creation behind and this “daughter” is actually the professor’s best masterpiece: she looks like a female Frankenstein. Madaraki Fran does not look like her father, but she is very similar to him, because she adores experiments and has incredible skills in all possible areas of medicine. She is an underground doctor, pursuing a single goal. She is able to fix any problem, cure any sickness, and can even give people eternal youth! Unfortunately, not many people can afford her help, since any cute little girl needs money for her cute little experiments. However, these moneybags are just unfortunate souls, because if you do not mention how you see your recovery, you will regret it.

That Is Unjust
Truth be told, the plot is impressive. Already the first volume is already very enjoyable to read, it is violent, it is funny and disgusting. Another thing to mention is that every two-three chapters there is a separate story of Fran helping her poor patients. Later on, however, this formula is broken. But, I must admit, it is even better. The readers do not feel burdened, since a new story starts quite soon and you do not have to wait that much. In addition to this, you will appreciate the originality of every chapter and enjoy the black humor. But I am not quite sure, if you will find any of her ‘creations’ funny. But give it a try, nevertheless.

Who Needs Two Hands When You Can Have Six Hands (Duh)
So, let us discuss the main pieces of this manga. Madaraki Fran, as it has already been mentioned, is one of the best creations of Madaraki Naomitsu. She does not have any features making her look like her father, but she has all the skills the professor has, she might even be more talented than her father. A cute creature, striving to help people. She is always ready to help, even for free, if you have a tearful story. She is a smart girl, she understands that having six hands is better than having two for any surgeon. The father should be proud! By the way, oh yes, she also has a credo: if humans’ life can be saved, this must be done! Simply put, no matter how terrible a person’s life might be, the main thing is that they will live. What a good doctor, you might think! Anyways, onto Fran’s assistant. He is called Okita. He is a handsome guy, his face looks like he is a popular idol of a jpop boys band and he also is a half human, half cat. He likes criticizing his mistress. And he also enjoys becoming human again, who would not, and Fran gladly helps her cute assistant with that.

There is also a police officer, Kuhou Rumiko. She is fascinated yet terrified of Fran. Fran sometimes pops up near her, sometimes to help her, sometimes to get some bodies for her lovely experiments. There are also other "creations" of Professor Madaraki, but telling you about them is something I will not do. Anyways, as mentioned before, Fran's patients change very often, so I am not going to list them all. However, I want to assure you that all the patients, as well as all other characters are unique and very interesting to follow. Almost forgot, Fran also created many other servants of her lovely self

Too Many Difficult Things I Know Nothing About
Of course, there will be many things, you will not understand anything about. As it has been already mentioned many times, the manga contains many medical terms, biological terms, etc. - the average reader will not understand many things. And even despite the efforts of the translators, who inserted explanations, it is not always possible to figure out how and why exactly what happens is happening. Perhaps this is one of the main disadvantages of the manga. As for the drawing - the details of all the small elements is simply amazing.

This Is Not Something Kids Should Read
It might sound as if it is a very dark comedy and that that is the only thing about it, wrong. You already know from my review that this manga has many 18+ scenes, I would even say you might feel bad even if you are older than 20+, when reading this manga. You need to have good mental health to read it. Otherwise, I would not recommend you reading it, it is very disturbing.

Masterpiece Many Will Not Understand
You might have an impression that this manga is a sick abomination and you will be right and wrong at the same time. There is one clear message the writer tried to show the readers. AND HE IS RIGHT ABOUT IT! Of course, I am not going to do all the work for you, silly, I will never tell you the message Kigitsu Katsuhisa wanted you to understand. Go read the manga, now. If you can, of course.

This manga is pretty intense... Every chapter has a new twist, and its creepy enough to be awesome, but not creepy enough to keep you up at night freaked out. They even insert internet memes into the manga like the flying spagetti monster.

I consider Franken Fran as a dessert after many serious dramatic mangas out there. It's short, wacky, interesting at first glance, and not plot-centric. And best of all, it's a gore feast, with parodies and aesops too.

Art: Great monster designs, so detail in the gory field and great anatomy. The rest is mediocre.

The Story:
It's a series of short stories surrounding our protagonist Fran. There is a tendency of having BE and/or mind screw plot twist at the end of every chapters (except some rare occasions). Some are good, some are bad, and some are just so funny and weird. MOST are disturbing, really disturbing. My personal opinion though, is that most of them isn't memorable as the rest.

The author sometimes tries too hard to screw your mind, the result is an edgy chapter with no redeeming values and the tragedy is just there to look dangerous. But it actually doesn't, it just looks tiring. This happens everytime raping is presented in a chapter as the main problem.

Character:
The characters are fun to watch. The constrasts in the Madaraki sisters' personalities and opinions is interesting. Fran is a nice fresh image of a mad scientist with a twisted mindset, and also a fan of "love". Veronica is a wounded tsundere puppy, who you'll feel bad for most of the times. The rest are expendable characters just there to tell a stories. You'll see some familiar characters that isn't the main cast pops up from time to time, but they're mostly just there to be made fun of.

Enjoyment:
I definitely like some of the chapters for the author's creative ideas and quirky parodies or reflections of real life problems. It's extremely gory and disturbing, so if you can't stand those, it's not for you. If you just want some great monster arts and dark drama, twisted ends with some occasionally funny parodies, give it a try.

Overall, it's a nice ride. What make Franken Fran a charming manga is its gore, its crazy Fran's operation quirk and its creative ideas. But to me, the too edgy side took a bit from its charm. Not groundbreaking, but entertaining and interesting.

This is just another of those mangas that you either love or hate, as for me, im still on the fence. The story resolves around a girl named Fran, who is something of a reanimated corpse that lives in a mansion with a doctor(that is never seen) and performs bizzare surgeries and experiments on other people. Often she does this against that person's will. Most stories end badly for those who came to her seeking help. The artwork is alright, but nothin special. The story changes pretty much from chapter to chapter, and is often extremely gory and horrid, so if u hav a weak stomach, do not read it. You can get some satisfaction out of it, but sometimes your hopes just leaves you at the end. Like i said earlier, you either hate it or love it. And don't expect many happy endings!

If you've been wanting a humorous take on violent human disfigurement, this is the manga for you. Starring Fran as the titular character, Franken Fran is an intriguing, often hilarious (and often horrifying) story of her medical adventures with the unfortunate people who come in contact with her.

A fantastic manga, as long as you aren't planning on eating anything while you read.

I'm sure most of the people who read this are familiar with the quote "Don't judge a book by its cover", well this manga will remember you the literal meaning of the quote xD

If you read this review and you didn't read the manga you probably won’t understand what I mean, so to be more clear first of all go and see some covers of the volumes of Franken Fran and then come back and keep on reading :D
Enough joking around and let’s start the real review:

First of all this review is based on the complete 61 chapters manga, I will attempt to avoid every spoiler.

Franken Fran is an horror manga with a nice touch of comedy, the manga covers the story of Fran a "girl" that resembles the Frankenstein’s monster with electrodes at each side of her head, she is in charge of the laboratory that Dr. Madaraki Naomitsu (her "father") left to her while he is traveling.
In every chapter she will handle different clients of the laboratory performing almost anything (raise the dead, switch heads and bodies etc...).
Also the chapters seem to cover different themes, such as love, religion, plastic surgery and justice in a strange and unique way combining horror, with a lot of guru, and comedy, with hilarious sceneries.
The stronger points of this manga are the characters and their personalities.
As said before Fran is the protagonist, a funny and easy-going girl that even in the more disturbing scenes will put a smile on your face.
Fran also during the manga will discover to have 2 sisters (other 2 creation of Madaraki), one of them Veronica is an assassin and the other one, Gavrill, is the boss of a gang, both of them will have some chapters where they are the protagonist adding more comedy elements to the manga... I will not say more because they appear late in the manga so I won’t spoil anything.
Frank has also two assistants: Okita, who has the head of a man and the body of a cat and Adorea, a beautiful woman wrapped entirely in bandages.
The graphic style in the first chapter it's a little bit old and messy, but it has a lot of details and in this case (remember it's a horror manga) it's very well appreciated changes. After the first chapter (that is the oneshot that come out before the manga) the style changes a bit, it doesn't feel old and it's simpler while maintaining all the details.

In conclusion all you need to know is that this manga is a must read to all who love horrors.
I think that if you read the first two chapters you will love the series and will keep on reading it (or you will hate it, there is no other choice).

Ok so this is my first review, so bear with improper format or an un-standard review i guess. This is one of the most unique things I have ever read; Franken Fran in short is a twisted, deranged, genius, conceptual, moral questioning work of art.

This manga is currently my favourite manga, but first off before I say the good and why you should read it, here is why you might not want to read it:
It is filled to the brim with an extreme level of gore and horror, and is not for the weak of stomach or mind, and If you are one of these don't bother reading it.
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If you are still reading this, your probably are not weak of mind or stomach or at least want to test your luck. So now I will say why I liked this manga so much:

The Characters: All the characters were very creative, but most importantly was the main character, who I thought was very well designed in both appearance and in their personality and actions. They mean well and only do what other people want and believe will help them, but the twist is, that those people clearly didn't think through well enough and so most of the conflict results not from Fran's failures, but from her patients.

Art: Pretty decent in general, characters are very well drawn, but the best drawn stuff is the gore, and detail and level of accuracy on peoples limbs, organs and internal anatomy.

Story: I put this last because it doesn't really have a plot in particular that goes throughout the entire thing, I'm not sure If this is the correct term seeing as this is a manga, but it has an episodic plot, that is different every chapter.

Overall the reasons behind my liking this manga so much are this; It was really interesting conceptually and it questions science and morality, in many different lights and offers tons of legitimate solutions and shows the reason why they fail or succeed. The most interesting thing about this manga is how all the problems that are fixed amazingly are all unethical or immoral, but leave people happy in general, and all the failed experiments are from negligence in the patient not thinking things through, or In the patient and then Fran, taking on an experiment on something not quantitative, but qualitative. (You will know what I'm talking about if you read it)

All in all; 10 out of 10. And It was very interesting.

Sorry for the massive review lol, I kinda started ranting...